’Pen needs some relief
Sox at risk of weakening their strength
PHILADELPHIA — For one night, the Red Sox were prepared. Their bullpen was exhausted, their starter’s medical history was longer than his big league resume, and so they had an extra arm in the bullpen.
You know, just in case.
Sure enough, in the middle of last night’s third inning, manager John Farrell had to break the glass and hit the big red button. Rookie Brian Johnson’s sore shoulder was a pitching emergency, and in came Hector Velazquez, the Triple-A call-up summoned for just such a worst-case scenario.
And for one night, Velazquez gave the Red Sox what they needed. He got them through the sixth without allowing a run. It wasn’t exactly a Herculean performance — this Phillies team is dreadful — but Velazquez did his part, then the usual suspects in the bullpen did theirs. The Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games. Crisis averted. For one night. The Red Sox are winning, but they can’t keep winning like this, and they know it. Their bullpen has been incredible. It was incredible again last night. Even with two key injuries and only one known quantity, the relievers have been just about as good as any in the game.
But they’ve carried too much of the burden.
“It’s a really comforting feeling to know they’re down there,” pitching coach Carl Willis said. “Now, we have to be able to get our starters deeper into games. We don’t want to wear these guys out, and that’s a concern, but what they’re doing right now is nothing short of amazing.”
Of the six most regularly used relievers — all but relatively new arrival Blaine Boyer — five have a WHIP below 1.20.
As a group, the Red Sox relievers have been phenomenal, and on the whole, their workload is relatively light. But bursts of extreme usage such as this can wreck a bullpen, and if the Sox keep this up, they’ll be without their late-inning powerhouses heading into their weekend showdown with the leagueleading Astros.
“It all leads back to the bullpen,” Farrell said. “Once we get a lead or keep a game close, they’ve been shutdown.”
They’ve also been tasked with 29 innings in the past six games. That’s nearly five innings per night. The ’ pen has not allowed a run in the past 21 1⁄3 innings pitched, but could use a break.
Johnson’s injury doesn’t make this any easier. With Eduardo Rodriguez already hurt, Johnson was the best bet for that elusive fifth starter. Steven Wright couldn’t hold up, Kyle Kendrick was a mess, and now it surely falls back to Velazquez to slip into the rotation after last night’s emergency performance.
Figuring out the rotation is the long-term problem, one that we should know more about after some test results.
Here’s the short-term problem: 6 1⁄3 innings from the bullpen last night; another six innings on Tuesday; five innings Monday; 4 2⁄3 on Sunday.
Granted, this stretch includes two extra-inning games and one injury — it’s not all about poor performance by the rotation and a quick trigger by the manager — but this isn’t sustainable. The team acknowledged as much by calling up Velazquez in the first place.
They voluntarily went to a short bench, made even shorter by a minor injury to Mitch Moreland, when entering a National League park where the bench actually comes into play on a nightly basis.
That’s how worn out the bullpen was already, and that was before the Sox burned through Velazquez, their best option as a true long man, and before three more relievers — Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Robby Scott — had to pitch an inning apiece last night.
“You’re always concerned,” Farrell said. “You monitor how many pitches the guys are throwing and you’re trying to pick spots and best conserve. . . . We need deep starts. That goes without saying.”
Now the team surely must add yet another fresh arm for tonight’s game. Velazquez might have to move into the rotation, Kelly probably won’t be available because the Red Sox aren’t ready to use him in back-to-back games, Barnes probably won’t be either because he’s thrown 65 pitches in three days, and Scott probably won’t be either because he’s pitched three days in a row.
Thank goodness for Chris Sale, huh?
The one guy the Red Sox have counted on for consistency and distance is taking the ball tonight. He’s surely their best hope to pick up the slack and give the pen a bit of a breather heading into Houston. His turn is coming just when the Red Sox desperately need it.